Thank You To Our Partners

Thank you

April 3, 2020

SRAS would like to take a moment to acknowledge and say thank you to our hosts, friends, and partners abroad. Our host institutions helped us keep our students safe and informed throughout the crisis and continue now to work side by side with us, adjusting their delivery model to provide students with academic continuity. Staff and instructors haven’t stopped supporting our students, putting in late hours due to the time differences and offering their creativity as we work to develop innovative solutions for the near-term future. Travel agencies, drivers, local organizations, hostels and cultural guides have been gracious as one by one we’ve had to cancel reservations. Our personality at SRAS is to be personal – to be small, but to do big things because we love what we do. We apply that thinking when we look for local partners, as well. We know the people purchasing train tickets, we’ve been to the homes of our cultural guides, and our university colleagues are our friends. The economic impact will be a hard hit, but we also know that the temporary void from being deprived of doing what you enjoy will hit equally hard. We work in a part of the world that is no stranger to hardship and crisis. By sharing your culture and history, we’ve learned from you, our partners, about resilience and recovery. So we thank you, and we stand by you as we weather this together. Travel restrictions will lift, the borders will open again, and students will come to discover the world with your help.

About the Author

April Djakoniya

April first traveled to Russia in 1996 when she was a student at Georgetown University. A few months turned into a few years and several cities in Russia before she returned to the US and and completed her B.S. and M.S. in Communications at Northwestern University. April has worked with several international organizations in both the U.S. and abroad including the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), the U.S. Consulate, American Library Association and Upwardly Global. She also has experience in higher education administration. In 2013, April returned to St. Petersburg, Russia where she resides with her family. She enjoys the daily discoveries that come with living abroad and strives to facilitate authentic cultural experiences for visitors. At SRAS, April oversees the development and delivery of student services and operations across our locations. She also contributes to program innovations and development of faculty-led programming.

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Testimonials

I’ve studied in Irkutsk and St. Petersburg with SRAS, but [Bishkek] is, by far, my favorite because of the intense focus on speaking skills. I spend about three hours, 4 times a week speaking one-on-one. It’s such a unique opportunity! The people are also especially friendly here. My homestay is fantastic, the coordinator is a never-ending wealth of help, and the food of Central Asia is delicious.

C. HughesThe Evergreen State College

We had a great time overall. The students were super impressed with SRAS — the guides, the accommodations, the excursions, etc. The guides were super knowledgeable and kind–the only thing that would improve the tours is volume. They tend to speak quietly so a few people who can’t hear lose interest. But we loved the Hermitage art project and Novgorod, and the bunker, and going behind the fountains at Peterhof, and the boat to Peterhof… We loved everything!

Ona Renner-FaheyAssociate Professor of RussianUniversity of Montana

I spent Fall and Spring with your program in St. Petersburg and it was truly the highlight and culmination of my University experience and just a banner year! I can’t thank you enough for or gush enough about your program. I recommend it to just about everyone I talk to, whether or not they’re interested in learning Russian.

B. LewisUniversity of Utah

The SRAS guides were excellent! They really knew their stuff and were able to relate the history of the places we visited in an interesting and inventive way. It was obvious they had a lot of experience working with American students.

Charles Arndt IIIVisiting Assistant ProfessorUnion College

My semester back home so far has been incredibly influenced by my semester abroad with SRAS and I find myself talking about it almost daily. Since many of my classes touch on the region (Europe after Socialism, Central Asian Politics), I’m able to add comments and insights unavailable to me before. My contributions to our Russian club have also been greatly enriched. Thank you for everything you did to facilitate this experience and going out of your way to ensure our success.

E. FinnUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst

At Stetson, we’ve used SRAS to arrange all of our student study abroad trips for the past five or six years. During that time we’ve sent dozens of students on summer- and semester-long programs in Moscow, St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Irkutsk. In every interaction I’ve had with them, SRAS has been prompt, reliable, knowledgable, courteous and quick to lend a hand when needed.

Dr. Michael A. DennerProfessor and Director, SPREESStetson University

Renee, the work that you do is so far beyond any kind of formal service or trip planning in your vision, scope, and ability to think of absolutely everything and anticipate potential problems in advance. You clearly have a gift for this.

Andrea LanouxAssociate ProfessorConnecticut College

At a time in my life when I was at a crossroads regarding where my career might take me, this course showed me a path that truly inspired me, and I haven’t looked back since.

B. DeYoungReed College

My research went exceptionally well. I couldn’t be happier and there is no way I could have done this without (SRAS Research Coordinator) Andrei’s help. I’m so glad you set me up with him. Really, he was extraordinary. He helped me time and again. Next year I hope that I will have a chance to pay him to help me again with RGASPI. In short, thanks to you, again, my experience in Russia was outstanding.

James NealyPhD Candidate in HistoryDuke University

I am very grateful to you for all your invaluable help with different aspects of the trip, the visa process and finding housing – it has all made a tremendous difference in making the trip go smoothly! (SRAS Research Coordinator) Andrei helped me a great deal, not just in terms of getting to know the different procedures for each of the archive centers, but also in offering his own insights from his own research experiences. I am very grateful to him for his patience, helpfulness, and thoughtful…

Rosibel RomanPhD Candidate in Global & Sociocultural StudiesFlorida International University

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